Monogram 1/48 A-26C Invader - COMPLETED

 My dad's old ride! I will eagerly follow along your build of this one! 

Nice start, O!  Maybe I need to pick one up.

Gary

Think I'll stick around and watch this build, looks interesting.

Stay safe.

Jim 

Cool O.  I'll follow along.

Just a small update today...

I've started on the cockpit, but there's really not much to show yet. While paint and glue dried on those parts, I decided to improve the upper turret. 

The upper .50 cals' perforated jackets are very obvious in era photos that I've seen. The kit's parts do not show that detail. So, using some .50 cals from spares box and some fine wire, I was able to gussy things up a bit.

That's all I've got for tonight. I'll post more when there's more to post. Of course, I appreciate you looking. As usual, comments, questions, and criticisms are welcome.

Until next time!

-O

They do look better, O!  Do you remember what kit they came out off?

Gary

You can always get some Quickboost gun barrels. I don't think that they make a set for this specific kit, but any set with a sufficient number of barrels will do.

It's all those little things that make the build stand out! 

Stay safe.

Jim 

GAF

...Do you remember what kit they came out off?

Hey Gary, thanks for stopping by. I'm sorry, but I do not remember where they came from. I want to say they came out of Academy's F-86 kit, but I could be wrong.

That aside, I have some progress to show on the cockpit and bombardier sections of the interior. I kept this area OOB, using a little creative painting for details. I spent some time trying to find ways to hide weight within these very visible areas.

I started by dropping BBs and Liquid Gravity into the molded voids on the underside of the cockpit floow. I then used small bits of styrene to hide it all. I also used a few pine derby car weights, too. Under some paint, it's all well hidden.

I also gluded some pine derby weights into areas that wouldn't bee seen once everything was assembled, like behind the cockpit and bombardier bulkhead and behind the instrument panel.

I decided to close up the bomby bay, so the weight behind the cockpit bulkhead won't be seen.

You can se that I was able to get the weights into a position where the airframe will cover them up.

Here are a couple of pictures with everything in place.

There's still a little work to do on these parts before I'm done. After this, I'll be working on getting the bay doors attached to the fuselage halves and the rear gunner position. 

For now, that's all I got. I appreciate you stopping by. As usual, comments, questions and criticisms are welcome.

Cheers!

-O

Lookin gooood "O"!

Stay safe.

Jim 

Very neat and clean, Omar.  I'm surprised at the color of the pilot's seat.

Hey gang, thanks for lookin'!

jeaton01

...I'm surprised at the color of the pilot's seat.

 

Thank you for this inspiration, Omar.  BTW, There was "The Big O" flying with the 3rd BW (LNI) out of Kunsan AB, named for the assigned pilot.  Dad flew with the 3rd BW (90th Squadron, of late flying F-22s based with the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf AFB).  My brother gave me this kit years ago, which has been on the shelf through a number of relocations.  I since added the ICM kit, which is more accurate, but still with inaccuracies.  Some day...  There's a couple near Ft. Bragg that produce nicely printed decals and I ordered a couple of their 3rd BW sheets for the 3rd BW as they include Little Sheba and others.  The wing operating from the east coast of S. Korea apparently got more attention...  Thanks again!  

Charlie B.  

Hey Charlie, maybe you could give me the info on those decal sheets? As of now, I don't have any specific markings in mind.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing!

-O

OK FSM, it's time for a (small) Invader update!

I was able to get the fuselage closed up. It was a challenge because I chose to close the bomb bay doors. UGH! They did not fit well! I used some styrene strip along the interior seams to help reinforce the joints. I also got the gunner position assembled and closed up. (Sorry, but I forgot to shoot WIP photos of those steps.)

I also got the empennage assembled. That was another poor fitting area. The horizontal stabilizers are molded as one big, heavy piece. It took a lot of sanding and filling to get them faired in. I got the transparencies attached and smoothed in as good as I could, too.





You may notice that one of the wing spars is missing. I accidentally broke it off while I was cleaning up the seams. I'll have to figure out a way to repair that.

Before priming, I needed to install a light at the very tip of the tail. Unfortunately, when I went to clip it off the sprue, it wasn't there. I know it wasn't the Carpet Monster because I never removed the part from its runner. So, my guess is that it came loose and got lost in the multiple moves this kit has survived. Still, I needed to muster a fix. So, I figured I'd use some clear sprue.

I found a big ol' hunk of clear sprue living in my spares box. 




After flattening one side, I used copious amounts of thick CA to attach it to the airframe and work as a filler.




Using my motor tool, I roughed out the part's final shape.




Once I was happy with the way it looked, I used various grades of sanding sticks, pads, and clothes to polish out the finished product.




No, it's not exactly 100% accurate, but it's close enough.

After that, I used Archer's resin details to replace the raised detail I obliterated while cleaning up the seams, then I primed.




While the primer cured, I turned my attention to another problem that I needed to solve. Before I primed, I mocked up the airframe and found that despite all the weight I crammed into the airframe, it was still a tail sitter. (#@$%&!) At this point, the fuselage and wings were all closed up. I had to figure something out. So, after looking for places to stuff in some more weight, I noticed there was some space behind the engines. I realized I could stuff some weight there. 

So, after playing around with the parts, I used a disk of styrene, some metal washers, and Liquid Gravity as my solution.




I used the disks to keep the prop shaft from moving after I got "my solution" in place and to protect it from "my solution". I dropped the shafts in and glued down the disks.





Then I CAed in the washers, and down the center, I glued in some Liquid Gravity.




After a quick mock-up and test, it looks as if these last additions will keep all three gear on the ground. (We'll see.)

Anyway, that's it for now. Of course, comments, questions, and criticisms are welcome.

Thanks for stopping by!
-O

After priming the fuselage, I was excited to start slinging paint. I thought I had done a pretty good job on the construction, so after smoothing out the primer with some 0000 steel wool, I sprayed the base coat of silver.

I started with the engines.




I also sprayed the airframe's major assemblies. Here, the wings are just dry fitted.




After I got the base color sprayed, I noticed that my assembly left some areas for improvement. I went back and tried to spot fix those few areas, but I noticed I was making things worse. So, I left the biggest mistake as it was and hoped the black scheme would hide (most of) it.

Before I could start with paint, I needed to figure out how to assemble the port wing, the one with the broken spar. I figured, the best way to repair a broken spar is to replace it. So...I did!

I drilled a hole in the fuselage, and a corresponding one in the wing, to accept a length of styrene tube.




It worked like a charm. As a matter of fact, it worked so well that I drilled through to the starboard wing and used a longer piece of tube to support both wings. 




I figured that since the wings were so heavy, a little more support couldn't hurt. I'm going to leave the wings off to make painting a little easier. Speaking of painting...

I started by spraying Alclad's Black Microfiller Primer as a marble coat.




Then I went back and covered with AK Real Color Flat Black lightened with various AK grays.





Before I sprayed the black, I used some masking fluid to allow for chipping later. I also used my cutting tool to make USAF masks. Simple tape strips allowed for walkway masking. A problem I ran in to is, when I pulled off the upper USAF, it pulled off a small bit of paint. It lifted the paint all the way down to the primer. Luckily, it looks as if it's supposed to be there. I'm debating whether or not I should fix it or leave it. Along with the other chipping, it looks like it's supposed to be there.




Here's where things are as of today. This was my first time using this chipping method. I'm afraid I may have gone overboard. Tell me what you think. Is it too much?






So, I'm going to put the Invader aside for a bit. I need to make the national insignia masks and work on some of the smaller stuff. As it turns out, I was able to pick up a set of TD wheels for $1 while I was in Arizona last weekend.




I think I'll spend some time on my Apaches.

Anyway, thanks for looking. Of course, comments, questions, and criticisms are welcome.

Happy modeling!
-O

She looks good, O!  I'd keep the chipping under the USAF.  Most don't chip in the decals, so any wear is good.  And good save on the wing spar!

Gary

Hey FSM, I'm back to share my latest progress.

I got some feedback suggesting that my initial attempt at chipping was overdone. So, I stepped away from the Invader for a week. I put it aside and came back to it with some "fresh" eyes. After taking a new look at my chipping effort, I agreed with the assessment and thought the chipping was excessive, specifically on cowlings and the leading edges of the wings and stabilizers. So, I toned it down a bit. The chipping on the upper surfaces, I left. I'm much happier with the look of the chipping now.

I also was able to spray some exhaust staining. This is the first time I tried airbrushing the staining. I have to say, I'm fairly happy with the way it turned out. I also got the national insignia sprayed on.









Oh, and I got the resin wheels finished, too.




I also got the armament finished.




I did a little work on the gun pods. Monogram modeled them into left and right halves, which led to a gnarly seam between the barrel tubes. So, I decided to cut the tubes off so I could get to the seam. It's a good thing I did because Monogram had modeled the pods incorrectly. Monogram modeled the outboard blast tube staggered forward of the inboard tube, but my research didn't show the pods that way. All the pictures of the pods that I saw showed the left blast tube forward of the right one. Now, of course, I'm sure someone has a photo somewhere showing that Monogram had it right and I screwed the pooch. Until I'm shown otherwise, I'm gonna say I did it correctly. 

After I cleaned up the seams, I opened up the ejection slot at the bottom of the pod. The opening is too big, according to my references, but I used the indentation that Monogram modeled into the plastic as my guide. Also, I used a small rectangle of tape to represent panels on the sides of the pod. No, they're not there on the real pods, but I used some artistic license to add some visual interest to the parts. The blast tubes are simply styrene rod with the ends drilled out. I painted one NMF to break up the all-black scheme. Again, just for some visual interest. Here is the silver one dry-fitted in place.




In the first photo, you can see the upper turret in the background. Here it is dropped into it's opening on top of the fuselage.




Here is where things are as of now.






I'm working on the landing gear so that I can get this girl up on her legs. After that, the last parts to finish will be the props. My kit's prop blades are warped, so I'm going to try to straighten them out. That will be the last chore before final assembly. Hopefully I can get this one wrapped up by next weekend. 

Please feel free to drop your two cents in the bucket on your way out. Comments, questions, and criticisms are welcome.

Stay tuned for more!
-O

I am not an aircraft guy but I think you did a fantastic job on this build. I looked it.

Hi "O":

     Listen,What I do when the props are bent or otherwise unuseable in their original state is this. I take a PYREX dish and Pour boiling water in it. One at a time I drop a prop, in doing so the plastic softens and I immediately reshape them, I take the reshaped prop  and drop it into ice water.This locks the new shape into them. Back when I started there wasn't an aftermarket for such equipment!

     P.S. The Aircraft is looking good. Question? are you going to stand her down for paintenance? She's awfully chipped looking. About time isn't it? Nah, probably after about ten more missions, right?

That is looking fantastic.  Well weathered and very real looking.  Black aircraft can be tricky to make realistic.  You got the tone just right.  

She's looking good!

Gary

Hey gang, I appreciate the feedback. It acts as motivation. 

Tanker-Builder

...What I do when the props are bent or otherwise unuseable in their original state is this. I take a PYREX dish and Pour boiling water in it. One at a time I drop a prop, in doing so the plastic softens and I immediately reshape them, I take the reshaped prop  and drop it into ice water.This locks the new shape into them. Back when I started there wasn't an aftermarket for such equipment!

     P.S. The Aircraft is looking good. Question? are you going to stand her down for paintenance? She's awfully chipped looking. About time isn't it? Nah, probably after about ten more missions, right?

 

Outstanding work "O"! 

Stay safe.

Jim 

OK FSM, let's stick a fork in this one. This is Monogram's Invader, built as a "generic" Korean warrior. This was build mostly OOB, with a few small alterations. I modified the upper turret, the underwing gun pods, and the tail light. I also added some TD resin wheels and EZ line aerials. Most of the major markings were painted on, with some markings taken from the kit's original sheet and some found in the spares box. This was painted with MM enamels, Testors little square bottles, and AK Real Color lacquers. The kit was weathered using some oils, Micron pigment pens, and Flory washes. 















































Of course, comments, questions, and criticisms are welcome. I appreciate you stopping by. Thanks for looking!

Cheers!
-O

Hi "O"!

     I am sorry, It just doesn't do anything for me. Oh! I know why, it's not on MY shelf here at home! No kidding, You did a beautiful job. I especially like the chipping in all the right places. This Bird has done some missions for sure!          T.B.

Thanks T.B., I'm glad you like 'er. She was a lot of fun to build, and I'm happy with the way things turned out. I'm glad to know that if she ever needs a new home, I'm sure you'd find some shelf space for her.

Thanks again for looking!

-O

Stay safe.

Jim